The Glenmore Creamery & the Dublin Milk Strike of 1939
One of our readers came across the Glenmore Creamery being discussed in Dáil Debates regarding the Dublin Milk strike of November 1939. The 1930’s were a difficult time in Ireland and elsewhere. Today we are going to try to capture some of the difficulties faced by farmers during that era and the stance that Glenmore farmers and others took regarding the Dublin Milk strike.
Background
In October 1929 the Great Depression commenced. Economic hardship was placed on most countries around the world including Ireland. In the United States, for example, the economic plight of farmers resulted in dairy wars and even involved the gangster Al Capone (Dairy News Today (2024).
In Ireland in 1932 the Fianna Fáil government under de Valera commenced a protectionist economic policy and tariffs were introduced on a wide range of imported goods primarily from Britain. Britain was Ireland’s largest trading partner. The new government sought to make Ireland agriculturally and industrially self-sufficient.
That same year de Valera determined that the land annuities paid to Britain by Irish tenant farmers per the Land Commission were public debts from which the Free State was exempted. His government passed the Land Act 1933 which allowed the collected monies to be spent on local government projects. Thus, farmers were not relieved of their annuity burdens. The money was paid to the Irish government instead of the British government.
To recover the annuities the British Prime Minister imposed a 20% import duty on Irish agricultural products into the UK which comprised 90% of Ireland’s exports. Ireland responded with similar tariffs on British goods. Thus, the Economic War commenced. It primarily affected farmers, and it fuelled class tensions in rural Ireland. Similar to the Land War of the 19th century some Irish farmers refused to pay their property rates or their land annuities. The Irish Government impounded livestock, and sold the animals for less than their value. Boycotts thrived and roads were blocked etc.
Due to the hardships suffered by Irish farmers there was little demand for manufactured goods, thus Irish manufacturers were also affected. By 1935 Irish farmers without a viable market began to slaughter their cattle in great numbers. The Economic War ended in 1938 when both countries reached an agreement to remove the tariffs. (Tim Pat Coogan (2003) Ireland in the Twentieth Century).
Then on 1 September 1939 World War II commenced. Although Ireland maintained neutrality during “the Emergency” her nearest and largest trading partner was completely immersed in the war and introduced the rationing of food, clothing and other items.
The Dublin Milk Strike of 1939
Two months after the war commenced, a large meeting of the Irish Milk Producers’ Association (Leinster Area) was held on 6 November. At this meeting the decision to withhold milk to Dublin City was agreed. The milk farmers noted that they were being asked to supply war time milk at peace time prices. Notwithstanding the increases in the price of cows and the price of feed, they were being asked to supply milk at a price lower than the price they received in 1938. The Minister of Agriculture refused to consent to a 6d per gallon increase for wholesale milk (Evening Echo, Tues. 21 Nov. 1939, p. 2).
On Friday the 17th of November 1939 members of the Association decided to give effect to their decision. The Government brought in supplies of milk by special trains under Gardaí escort. The Co. Dublin Farmers’ Association supported the milk farmers and pledged to stop supplies of milk, vegetables and farm produce and stop all fairs and markets (Evening Echo, Tues. 21 Nov. 1939, p. 2). Initially the newspaper accounts noted that there was no impact from the Dublin milk strike.
Escalation
Before the strike the Dublin and District Milk Producers’ Association brought into Dublin 19,000 gallons of milk per day. After the strike commenced the amount supplied decreased to 10,000 to 12,000 gallons per day. The Association supplied numerous wholesalers who supplied the shops where the milk was generally sold over the counter to poor people (Irish Press, Thurs. 23 Nov. 1939, p. 8).
The Dublin Milk strike reached a new phase, on the 22nd of November. There were shortages of cabbage, turnips and mangolds in metropolitan markets. Prices almost doubled above their normal price. Less milk reached Dublin, but a shortage was not experienced (Irish Examiner, Thur. 23 Nov. 1939, p. 4). To deal with the threat of no fresh milk for the capital the Irish Government reversed the monopoly it had established limiting milk sales in Dublin to 5 surrounding counties. It also under threat of penalty requisitioned milk from various creameries across the country including Glenmore.
By Friday the 24th of November “a large number of farmers picketed the vicinity of the Dublin Cattle Market, and a strong force of Guards were on duty. Buyers and salesmen remained until the afternoon, but no animals appeared. Stock on the way to the market during the night and early morning were stopped by pickets” (Irish Independent Fri. 24 Nov. 1939, p. 9).
The Munster Express (Fri. 24 Nov. 1939, p. 5) wrote a very passionate statement regarding the milk strike and the general farmers’ strikes that broke out across the country shutting down livestock markets and fairs.
“Not since the days, now exactly 60 years ago, when Michael Davitt launched the Land League…had the spirit of the Irish farmers been stirred as at the present moment. They have borne with the agonizing disappointment of the Economic War and all the misery following in its train. …They braced themselves up to bear the burden enforced upon them until the last straw has, in the name of the war, been laid upon their broken backs…They are a class not easily roused to action, but being moved, aroused in the extreme. The increase since the war broke out in the prices of essential feeding stuffs, such as maize, bran and pollard, regarding which the standstill order has not operated…” In other words milk prices were capped but the price of animal feed etc. were not capped.
The End of the Milk Strike
By 1 December 1939, after the Minister for Agriculture met with the milk producers the milk strike was over, but the general farmer’s strike continued. The Minister for Agriculture refused to meet for some time with the farmers’ representatives. Over 80 farmers across the country had been arrested. The Minister for Justice announced that the Government was satisfied that the ordinary courts were not suitable for dealing with the farmer cases. Fine Gaels’ Dr. O’Higgins stood up in the Dáil and objected to the Government imposing Special Courts for the trial of farmers arrested during the strikes. He noted that Members of the Government had at one time or another done all the things that caused the farmers to now be arrested (Anglo-Celt, Sat. 2 Dec. 1939, p. 12).
Nevertheless, the Government pressed ahead with the Special Criminal Courts for the arrested striking farmers. Nine County Meath farmers, plead guilty to offences arising out of the milk strike. The defendant farmers were bound to the peace by the Special Criminal Court sitting at Collins barracks. The defendant farmers agreed to pay £4 14s for the value of the milk they spilled and £11 13s for witnesses’ expenses (Evening Herald, Mon. 4 Dec. 1939, p. 4). The ordinary courts were obviously well equipped to deal with these types of cases.
In the Dáil on 1 December, Timothy J. O’Donovan of Fine Gael representing Cork West stated that he believed that the milk producers of Dublin had a grievance. The producers got 1s 4d per gallon, and the distributors got 2s 4d. “At these prices one wondered who owned the cows” ((Anglo-Celt, Sat. 2 Dec. 1939, p. 12).
Glenmore Creamery
Timothy J. O’Donovan was not happy to allow the issue of the penalties imposed on creameries across the country to go unchallenged. During Dáil debates on Wednesday 15 May 1940, (Vol. 80, no. 4) O’Donovan requested the Minister for Agriculture to identify all creameries which failed or refused to respond to the Government requisition regarding the milk supply to Dublin during the milk strike of November 1939. He also wished to know if any of the creameries had been penalised as a result of their failure or refusal and the amount of the fine in each case. There were 38 creameries listed as fined and below are 3 local creameries with their imposed fines.
Glenmore Co-operative Creamery Ltd. was fined £35 6s. 5d.
Kilmacow Co-operative Creamery, Ltd. was fined £23 12s. 2d.
Mullinavat Co-operative Agricultural and Dairy Society, Ltd. £19 6s. 2d
It was reported in the Munster Express that “milk suppliers to Kilmacow Creamery, at a meeting after last Mass on Sunday [26 November 1939] unanimously decided not to send any milk to Dublin during the period of the strike. Glenmore and Mullinavat suppliers passed similar resolutions” (Munster Express, Fri. 1 Dec. 1939, p. 8).
Conclusion
“The Dublin Milk strike, if it did nothing else made several prominent politicians think a few times…The Minister for Agriculture was able to view the effects of the monopoly he created for limited the supply of milk to Dublin to 5 counties.” “For generations Dublin drew it supplies…from any district that had milk to spare…For at least 50 years it was a common sight to see churns of milk loaded on the early trains…consigned to Dublin distributors” (Irish Examiner, Sat. 2 Dec. 1939, p. 7).
The milk strike in 1939 was not the last milk strike held in Ireland. In 1953, another milk strike was debated in the Daíl. The 1953 strike was even covered by the New York Times. Perhaps readers will remember the milk strike of 1978? It was covered by RTE.
See our post of 27 December 2020 regarding rabbit trapping in Glenmore during World War II.
Special thanks to Veronica F. for forwarding the Dáil Debates regarding the Glenmore Creamery.
Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com .
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
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